OK, I’m tired of getting the cordless drill out and find the batteries are shot! I’m going to splurge and get a lamp timer and plug in the charger. What do you recommend for a daily shot of electricity per day? I have two batteries.

15 replies so far

I had the NI-Cad batteries for my Ryobi set and had the same problem after a few months, they just would not hold a charge. bought new batteries and the same old story after a few months. I bought a Makita set with Lithium batteries over a year ago and they are still going strong and hold a charge. My wife was so impressed with the Lithium batteries that she bought a set for the Ryobi and Wholla! problem solved, I can pick it up after a week of sitting and it still has a charge. that is cool.You might consider putting the bucks into a Lithium battery rather than a timer … battery technology has really grown in the last few years. ... In mho.

Good idea but I’m considering the cost. All told, I have five batteries- two that hold charges and three that don’t. I think Batteries Plus rebuilds batteries- I’ll check with the local store and see if they can rebuild with the Lithium innards. May just do one at a time. Thanks, Grumpymike.

Many years ago I read this tip somewhere and used it….the end of my problems. I bought an electric digital timer, the kind that’s programmable for 7 days. It’s set up to turn on for 2 hours once a week, for me that’s typically early Wed. morning for no particular reason. It’s connected to power strip that has all my chargers plugged into it. I’ve done this with Nicads (now all gone) NIMH, and now have some of the LiON units. My batteries last longer and are always charged when I need them. I have, however, had a couple of the timers go bad…some of them are junk. I’ve had the best luck with the Timex brand (takes a licking, and keeps on ticking).

Most rechargable batteries, whatever the chemistry, have a finite number of times they can be recharged. Ni Cads it’s about 200-300 times and NiMH its maybe 300-400 times. Hitting one with a charge every week will probably fry a battery in 2 to 4 years whether you use it or not.On the other hand, over charging or leaving it on the charger all the time will kill it faster than that, so the weekly top up charge is not a bad idea.

Most of the new LiIon chargers are smart; meaning they analyze the battery and provide the charge required then they shut off. These batteries will hold a charge for months if they are not being used so I wouldn’t recommend putting them on a timer and charging them regulary. They are also extremely expensive so I would not recommend doing anything outside the manufacturer’s recommendation.

Anyone who has become frustrated with NiCad type batteries should reconsider the new LiIon powered tools. They are a totally different animal.

And, by the way, I also remember John Cameron Swayze, as well as Chet Hutley and David Brinkley, Edward R. Murrow, and Walter Cronkite. It was nice not knowing the political affiliation of the journalist as well.

-- Michael :-{| Don't anthropomorphise your tools, they hate it when you do that.

Not arguing with you about the 2-4 years, but that’s not been my experience. I seemed to get about 6-7 years out of Nicads when topping them off weekly. I no longer have any NiCads, and the NiMH and Lion haven’t failed at all, so I don’t know what my life expentancy is with them. I label all my batteries with the date they were put into service, my Makita NiMh are dated 9/05, and are the oldest ones I have at the moment.

I really like the LiIon batteries, save for one little problem. Seems they always die right when you have that last hole to drill, last screw to put in. And they just die, it’s not like you can buy just one more hole or screw, even though you might have to help the drill a little to get that last one like with the old NiCads.My LiIon’s only die when I have both hands in use, also holding a minimum of two pieces of wood, in an awkward position, and glue is drying and the shop is hot…

My little Makita came with the batteries charged and I have only had to recharge them once to date…they sit around for quite awhile just waiting for me to put them back to use : ) LOLToo much recharging isn’t a good thing I have read / heard.

I think it depends on several thing and the charger is probably #1. Dewalt tells you to keep a battery in the charger ALL the time. It has a top off feature and it will not harm them. They will also tell you up front that their batteries are designed to last 5 years. Never figured out how they put a calendar in them but they do. Batteies will only get to 5 years if they are left charged all the time. I can’t speak for many of the others since I mostly have Dewalts. Rigid says to not store their charged but it does only take 20 minutes to full charge one in my charger. This drill is about 5 years old and so far they are holding up fine. I do have the lifetime warranty on that drill so they are supposed to give me batteries. I have no complaints about that tool at all so far.